Until the very end, even the direct opponents had believed in a bluff. But the Mercedes form was actually not enough to play a major role in the first qualifying session of the 2022 Formula 1 season. That surprised the competition from Ferrari and Red Bull, who ended up well ahead of Mercedes.
Lewis Hamilton in P5 in qualifying was 0.680s off Charles Leclerc’s pole time in the Ferrari F1-75 and 0.317s off the Red Bull RB18 of Sergio Pérez right in front of him. George Russell in the second Mercedes W13 even lost almost 1.7 seconds on the leader, but with a less than optimal lap in Q3.
That came as a surprise to Leclerc: “Even after the third training session, I still had doubts.” So he had assumed that Mercedes would be able to improve significantly towards qualification.
Leclerc: The reality is different…
“Of course: it was obvious that they were not in their comfort zone. But if you consider the past few years, in which they had held back a lot, you could think there was a little more to it this year,” says Leclerc. “They probably don’t have anything up their sleeves, they have bigger problems than in other years.” Bouncing in particular is a problem for Mercedes.
Despite these difficulties, Leclerc had the Silver Arrows on the bill, at least for qualifying. Now he sees things differently: “If I look at their pace on Saturday, I don’t see that happening in the race on Sunday.” In other words: Ferrari and Red Bull are unlikely to be threatened by Mercedes in the Grand Prix, which, by the way, coincides with the self-assessment of the star brand.
Because the Mercedes W13 makes an impetuous impression. “You can see the bouncing that occurs,” says Max Verstappen. “I suspect the car is not easy to drive. Sometimes it seems to fit, but sometimes it doesn’t. I think Mercedes just has to get a few things right. If they can do that, the package should be really fast.”
Ferrari and Red Bull: Don’t let up now…
That’s why his own team is required to maintain the current lead over Mercedes. Because the developer qualities of the Silver Arrows are beyond question: “I know from last year how quickly Mercedes can advance the car. And at some point it was incredibly difficult to beat this car.”
The new Formula 1 regulations may play Mercedes into the cards, says Verstappen. The new rules left “a lot of leeway” for the vehicles. “You can quickly find a lot of power there. And Mercedes will work hard to close the gap,” said the defending world champion.
“We just have to develop our own car and learn something new every weekend. All the more so because it won’t go like this every time in the coming weeks. Mercedes won’t stay where it is now or always have problems like this time.”
Sainz: Mercedes history inspires respect
Leclerc’s Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz also believes in a Mercedes comeback soon. The team will “fight back,” he says. Reason: “You know Mercedes not only for starting a season strong, but above all for ending a season strong.”
“It seems like they were honest about the problems they were talking about because Mercedes didn’t play a role in pole position. That’s surprising. However, I have a strong belief that they will fight their way back. So we have to keep an eye on them and keep up with our own development, because Mercedes’ development rate will be gigantic.”